The Bergen County Audubon Society got a nice turnout for its Birding for Beginners class, hosted by the Meadowlands Commission at the Visitor Center in DeKorte Park last Sunday.
A turnout of three dozen learned about binoculars, field guides, and bird identification — before trying out their newfound skills in DeKorte Park (below).
Click here for more information on Bergen County Audubon. Click here for more info on their "Birding For Beginners" walks.
Despite the iffy weather, we are planning to move forward with the Harrier Meadow walk scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. We'll meet at the Harrier Meadow entrance in North Arlington.
Because Harrier Meadow is not usually open to the public, you will be required to sign a standard liability release.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, there was a 40 percent chance of rain, so please bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes if you are planning to attend. A walk in a light rain could be invigorating.
If it's a complete washout, we will reschedule and post the new date and time on the blog.
Sorry about the uncertainty, but perhaps some of the vaunted May flowers will result.
Click "Continue reading …" below for directions to Harrier Meadow.
We saw this chap catching some rays in the MRI wetlands in Carlstadt while we wer
e putting up Tree Swallow boxes earlier this week.
Its shell was still dirty from a winter's nap in the mud.
It was a little more sluggish than usual, so we were able to get a photo or two.
The turtle was not easy to ID, covered with mud, but we've narrowed it to Diamondback Terrapin or Snapping Turtle. Any thoughts?
More on Diamondback Terrapins here.
Other posts on Meadowlands reptiles and amphibians here.
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) is hosting an art 
exhibit featuring nature paintings by Lissanne Lake during April at the Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Center.
“Green Worlds – N.J. Parks,” runs today through April 29. A reception for the artist is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Sunday April 5.
“Green Worlds” features acrylics of people enjoying parks and interacting with wildlife found in the Meadowlands and throughout New Jersey.
Lake, a North Bergen resident, has held a lifelong interest in naturalist painting and ecology.
Her work has been recognized in juried shows in Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties.
Click "Continue reading…" for more information and paintings.
NJMC Naturalists Michael Newhouse (above) and Gabrielle Bennett-Meany rescued a Red-tailed Hawk near Disposal Road in North Arlington late Tuesday afternoon.
An NJMC staffer had seen the hawk, noted that it did not fly away when approached, and called the naturalists.
Newhouse and Meany saw that the young hawk was emaciated and possibly dehydrated, and the NJMC's Brett Bragin brought it to the Raptor Trust in Millington for rehab.
We will let you know of the Redtail's progress.
We hope to release the Redtail in the Meadowlands in a couple of weeks.
More info on the Raptor Trust is here.
We saw this turtle in Losen Slote Creek Park recently walking near the Moonachie/Little Ferry border.
His rare vocalizations caught our ear. Listen closely and see if you agree.
Click "Continue reading…" for more information on this rare turtle.
Can you identify this bird?
For answer, click on "Continue reading…" immediately below.
For more Tuesday Teasers, click here.
Last week, we posted an item featuring the above photo of a Red-tailed Hawk appearing to drag-race a "jumbo jet."
A hawk-eyed reader points out that the aircraft in question was actually a DeHavilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8.
The Meadowlands Blog regrets the error, and eagerly awaits enrolling in a "Aircraft ID for Beginners" course.
NJMC staffer Marc Schrieks took this shot of Crocuses at DeKorte Park last week.
Photos by Brian Aberback/NJMC
More than 50 middle school students, local businesspeople and Ridgefield residents joined forces on Thursday to clean the Skeetkill Marsh as part of the Me
adowlands Conservation Trust’s (MCT) annual Clean-Up Day.
The cleanup was organized as part of the MCT’s Park Stewardship Program, which recruits volunteers from corporations, schools, civic clubs and other organizations for clean up and site maintenance projects.
Volunteers spent three hours removing more than 50 bags of litter from around the marsh and public sitting area, including food wrappers, soda bottles, metal rope, plaster and a truck tire.
Click "Continue reading…" for more information and clean-up photos.